TEACHING JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION THROUGH COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS Objective: Students will learn about the personal experiences of Japanese American incarcerees during World War II and will practice communicating information concisely by developing an original comic. Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. Description: According to the School Library Journal’s article Teaching with Graphic Novels, the advantages* of teaching with comics and graphic novels as supplemental texts includes: • supporting low readers and promoting memory through pairing of image and text • modeling concise verbiage for skilled readers • reinforcing left-to-right sequence • communicating ideas efficiently Martin Luther King, Jr. contributed to a comic book titled The Montgomery Story, a copy of which can be found in the museum’s archive (a related teacher guide can be found here http://americanhistory.si.edu/citizenship/pdf/School_MLK.pdf). That work inspired Congressman John Lewis to tell his own story of the civil rights movement through comics in the New York Times bestseller March. Some famous examples of graphic novels on civil-rights topics are Maus, Art Spiegelman’s series about his family’s experiences during the Holocaust, and Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical series about her childhood in Iran. In addition, graphics and illustrations have a long tradition in Japanese art, including scroll paintings, anime, and manga (literally “random sketches” or doodles, but now used to refer to comic books or illustrated entertainment). See this video [http://pulverer.si.edu/node/184] from the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian art on the evolution of Japanese graphic art. Comics were also a method for Japanese American incarcerees in World War II to express their experiences. Most famous among these artists was Miné Okubo, who was incarcerated in the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah during World War II. Okubo’s drawings take the reader through her time at the Tanforan Assembly Center in San Bruno, California, and eventually the Topaz camp. Her artwork inspired her book Citizen 13660, which was published in 1946. TEACHING JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION THROUGH COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS Drawing, Mine Okubo [Waiting in Lines at Tanforan Assembly Center, San Bruno, California, 1942]. Courtesy of the Japanese American National Museum (Gift of Mine Okubo Estate, 2007.62). Teen participants in the National Museum of American History’s Youth Civic Engagement Program collaborated with Evan Keeling, an artist and exhibits fabricator from the Smithsonian Exhibits, and teens at the Hirshhorn Museum’s ARTLAB+, to create this series of original comics on the Japanese American experience during World War II. The comics represent oral histories from survivors of Japanese American incarceration camps. Use these comics to introduce this period in history to students or to prepare students to view and participate in the National Youth Summit on Japanese American Incarceration [http://americanhistory.si.edu/nys/national-youth-summit-japanese-american-incarceration- world-war-ii]. As an assessment for this or other topics, use the comic template included here to allow students to create their own comics based on their studies, including examining primary sources such as oral histories. Find oral histories and other primary sources on Japanese American incarceration at the Densho Digital Archive. *The vivid imagery in comics and graphic novels may cause concern among some parents, so graphic novels should be carefully chosen and discussed with parents and administrators. TEACHING JAPANESE AMERICAN INCARCERATION THROUGH COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS Resources Norman Mineta: http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/26/us/washington-talk- friendshipsheat-war-welds-bond-that-endures-across-aisles-years.html Yuri Kochiyama: http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Yuri_Kochiyama/ http://www.democracynow.org/2006/2/21/civil_rights_activist_yuri_kochiyama_re members Fred Korematsu: http://www.korematsuinstitute.org/fred-t-korematsu-1/ Chizu Iiyama: http://www.tellingstories.org/internment/ciiyama/index.html Masaru Kawaguchi: http://www.tellingstories.org/internment/mkawaguchi/index.html Paul Ohtaki: http://www.tellingstories.org/internment/pohtaki/index.html spies. meeting. they were were they join our scout scout our join citizens. - Norm Mineta Norm - I thought thought I Cody are going to to going are American American are are would ever see it again.” again.” it see ever would from the town of of town the from Yes, These These Yes, San Jose, not knowing if we we if knowing not Jose, San Some scouts scouts Some time was when we were leaving leaving were we when was time *A negative racial epithet. racial negative *A three times... The second second The times... three Alan K. Simpson K. Alan “I’ve only seen my dad cry cry dad my seen only “I’ve out there? out Scouts any Are there there Are Relocation Center. Relocation Alan? meeting. Heart Mountain War War Mountain Heart The The Jap* camp Jap* for a Scout Scout a for you work with with work you temperatures plagued plagued temperatures We are going out to the the to out going are We Norm, why don’t don’t why Norm, dust storms and -30 degree degree -30 and storms dust http://am Smithsonian Institution Come on They remained friends and both On September 21, 2001, Mineta boys, time went into politics. While Norm sent a letter to all U.S. to go… was a Congressman and Alan airlines forbidding them from was a Senator, they sponsored practicing racial profiling, H.R. 442, which became the or subjecting Middle Eastern ericanhistory.si.edu/getinvolved/youth-civic-engagement-program Civil Liberties Act of 1988. or Muslim passengers to a heightened degree of pre- flight scrutiny. He stated that it was illegal for the airlines to discriminate Dad! They against passengers based on took away my their race, color, national youth civicengagem baseball or ethnic origin or religion. bat! I hope we Hopefully see each we’ll have other again another ent program soon. meeting here. This law included an apology and provided reparations to thousands of surviving Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. Norm was appointed United States Secretary of Transportation by President George W. 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Supreme California... the director of the the of director the September 8, 1942 8, September Fred was was Fred all the way to the to way the all arrested in San Leandro, Leandro, San in arrested Ernest Besig, Besig, Ernest Fred, I’m I’m Fred, Despite their efforts, on on efforts, their Despite May 30, 1942 30, May Fred took his case case his took Fred , Fred was was Fred , On http://americanhistory.si.edu/getinvolved/youth-civic-engagement-program Smithsonian Institution This however did not overturn His goal was realized in 1988 In 1980, a presidential his conviction in the when President Ronald Reagan commission found the U.S. Supreme Court. signed the Civil Liberties Act. incarceration of Japanese American As long as my in 1998 Fred was awarded the unconstitutional. record stands in Presidential Medal of Freedom. This allowed for Fred’s federal court, any He passed away in 2005. case to be re-opened. American citizen can I’m not going be held in prison or to let them put concentration camps program youth civic engagement me into a prison! without a trial or I’ll change a hearing. I would my name! like to see the government admit they were wrong and do something about it, so this will never On November 10, 1983 happen Judge Marilyn Hall Patel again to any American... overturned Fred’s conviction in California. Fred started lobbying the U.S. government for a bill that His work is carried on by his would grant a formal apology daughter Karen Korematsu, and compensation for the Founder and Executive Fred defied the Police surviving Japanese Americans Director of the and Refused to go to the who were incarcerated. Fred T. Korematsu Institute Incarceration Camps him. nurse with with surgery. sending a a sending He needs care! needs He ulcer ulcer took Pop! took they are are they to a hospital. hospital. a to The FBI just just FBI The back from from back come home. But But home. come for them to send him him send to them for He’s just gotten gotten just He’s Mom, come home! home! come Mom, letting Pop Pop letting begging begging I keep keep I That’s my father. father. my That’s Jan. 20, 1942 20, Jan. They are are They on? going going What’s Japanese. might be helping the the helping be might of Wake Island. Wake of here? fisherman and and a is he the Battle Battle the wounded at at wounded living living your father because because father your FBI.